660 LOUIS AGASSIZ. 



come to light tending to confirm my results. 

 The Whymper Expedition brought to England 

 a number of fossil plants, which have been 

 sent to me for examination. I found eighty 

 species, of which thirty-two from North Green- 

 land are new, so that we now know 137 species 

 of Miocene plants from North Greenland (70 

 N. lat). It was a real delight to me to find 

 the fruit cup of the Castanea [chestnut] in- 

 closing three seeds (three Kastanica) and cov- 

 ered with prickles like the Castanea vesca; 

 and, furthermore, I was able to prove by the 

 flowers, which were preserved with the fruit, 

 that the supposition given in the Arctic Flora 

 (p. 106) was correct ; namely, that the leaves 

 of the Fagus castaneafolia Ung. truly belong 

 to a Castanea. As several fruits are contained 

 in one fruit cup, this Miocene Castanea must 

 have been nearer to the European species (C. 

 vesca) than to the American Castanea (the C. 

 pumila Micha). The leaves have been drawn 

 in the Flora Arctica, and are also preserved 

 in the Whyrnper collection. 



I have received very beautiful and large 

 leaves of the Castanea which I have called C. 

 Ungeri, from Alaska. I am now occupied in 

 working up this fossil Alaskan flora; the 

 plants are in great part drawn, and contain 



